


Scribbles' Clexa Week 2019

by M_E_Scribbles



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Artist Clarke Griffin, Clarke Loves That Lexa Didn't Know, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Don’t copy to another site, Exes, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Game Designer Clarke, It's Been 6 Years, Lexa is an Art Class Model, MFA Student Clarke, Nipples, No Strings Attached, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Only One Bed, Raven Lives to Tease Clarke, Raven Locks Them In A Room, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Sharing a Bed, Soccer Star Lexa, Useless Lesbian Lexa (The 100), Useless Lesbians, exes to friends, law student lexa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-05 09:19:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17916080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M_E_Scribbles/pseuds/M_E_Scribbles
Summary: Day 1- Useless Lesbian - They’re idiots in love and Lexa is a useless lesbian who doesn't realize their dating.Day 2 - No Strings Attached - Clarke and Lexa meet at the beginning of their journeys through grad school. It starts off with a hook-up and moves on to friends-with-benefits. And it grows from there...Day 3 - Only One Bed - Clarke makes an appearance at a pre-wedding weekend for Lincoln and Octavia after she'd told them she wouldn't be there. She's surprised to find out Lexa was somehow there too. And, of course, there was only one bed.Day 4 - Nipples - Clarke has found a muse but she finds herself unable to finish her sketches thanks to a very particular area of Lexa's body...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> DAY ONE OF CLEXA WEEK 2019!!
> 
> HERE'S WHAT I HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU FOR DAY 1!!
> 
> Clarke and Lexa are neighbors in their last year of university. They’re the best of friends, they do everything together. That includes holding hands, making out, and hooking up. They're dating, complete with talks about the future and meeting the parents, but Lexa is convinced, no matter how much she loves Clarke Griffin, they’re just having fun before they move on to grad school. They’re idiots in love and Lexa is a useless lesbian.

Thursdays were easily Lexa’s favorite days of the week.

She was out of class by 1:45, leaving her alone in the apartment she shared with her cousin, Anya, for a few hours. She could study with her classical music playing, the songs Anya always faked snored during, or she could dance around the kitchen while she made cookies, something she never did around Anya because she’d recorded her one too many times and posted to Instagram.

She could do things like that.

Instead, she did Clarke.

Or rather, she spent her time with Clarke.

Not that she wouldn’t do Clarke… If the opportunity arose…

Never mind.

Ever since Clarke and her best friends moved in to the apartment next door at the beginning of the year, Lexa had been crushing hard on her. That was in June. It was nearly May now. Graduation was approaching.

Some time in August, Clarke had taken to popping in to visit with Lexa whenever they had a bit of free time. Or whenever she could really.

It wasn’t long before Lexa was quizzing Clarke over human anatomy. A favor Clarke returned by helping Lexa study for her poli-sci exams.

By the beginning of October, the two of them were inseparable.

Of course, Anya falling for Raven and Lincoln pursuing Octavia helped with that. Their friend groups merged into one massive group. Sure, there were a couple of people Lexa only spent time with because they were Clarke’s friends, but still. She’d say Bellamy and Jasper were her friends if it meant Clarke was happy.

Then came Bellamy and Echo’s Halloween party.

The night started just like any other. Clarke and Lexa got ready together, teasing and laughing while they did their hair and makeup. Clarke had convinced Lexa to go as an apocalyptic warrior queen (or something like that…) while Clarke was… a different sort of apocalyptic warrior. Lexa was wearing a sash made of red velvet and armor made from recycled tires and nylon straps over a long leather trench coat. Clarke was in a blue leather jacket and ripped jeans.

“I don’t see the correlation, Clarke.” Lexa admitted once they were ready.

“You’re the leader of the Grounders and I’m the leader of the Sky People.”

Lexa only shook her head. “I don’t know what that means!”

“It’s from the comic book Raven and I made when we were in high school,” Clarke said. She blushed a little and smiled softly. “The leader of the Grounders falls for the Clarke of the Sky People.”

There was a long pause while Lexa tried to figure out what that was supposed to mean. For her. And for Clarke.

For them.

“So… I’m a warrior?” Lexa asked, needing a distraction from the pretty pink tint gracing Clarke’s cheeks.

“You’re _the_ warrior. The most badass there is.” Clarke answered with a grin. “Raven and I made her invincible!”

Before Lexa could question her further, the door to her bedroom flew open. A giggling Raven nearly fell into the room, a slightly annoyed Anya behind her.

“If you two are done with your weird mating dance,” Anya drawled, “can we get going? I don’t want to be stuck at Bellamy’s all night. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave.”

Lexa only nodded and headed toward the door. Clarke fell in step beside her.

When she felt a hand slip in to hers, Lexa nearly choked on her tongue. She glanced down, wanting to make sure she was right, that her brain wasn’t imagining the weight and pressure of Clarke’s hand pressed to her own.

When she saw Clarke’s hand, she grinned and gave it a squeeze.

They didn’t part ways until they got to the party.

Lexa was pulled aside by Lincoln, needing to discuss something from one of their shared classes.

Clarke found herself trapped by Finn Collins, her high school boyfriend.

Thankfully, Raven spotted them in the corner and rolled her eyes. Then she sent Anya to rescue Clarke.

By the end of the night, it was just the core group of their friends hanging out at Lexa and Anya’s place. They were telling scary stories by candlelight and drinking the fancy whiskey Lexa’s dad had sent to her for her birthday.

Normally Lexa hated scary stories but Clarke was cuddled into her side, leaning her head on Lexa’s shoulder.

At the end of the night, after everyone had either left or passed out, Lexa found herself asking Clarke if she wanted to stay the night.

“I’d hate for you to have to walk home so late,” She’d teased, crinkling her nose.

“Well,” Clarke hummed and smiled. “I wouldn’t want you to worry. Do you have anything I can sleep in?”

She let her borrow a pair of boxers and a t-shirt she was pretty sure she’d stolen from Lincoln. They changed and prepared for bed.

Lexa grabbed a couple bottles of water for the bedside tables, knowing they’d be needing them in the morning. When she got back to her room, Clarke was already in her bed, curled up under the blankets.

All Lexa could see was her hair spread out on the pillow.

Thinking her friend was asleep, Lexa turned off the light and crawled into bed. She moved slowly, not wanting to wake Clarke.

“Your bed is comfy.”

“I thought you were asleep,” Lexa whispered, shifting to her side and moving closer.

Clarke hummed and nodded. “Almost.”

“But not yet?”

“Nah,” Clarke sighed. She moved a little closer to Lexa. “Something I wanted to do first. Before I forget to be afraid.”

Lexa’s brows came together then. What on Earth was Clarke afraid –

Clarke’s lips!

Clarke was kissing her!

It took a few seconds for Lexa to respond. It wasn’t until Clarke started to pull away that Lexa lifted her hand and dove her fingers into those beautiful blonde locks. She held Clarke close as she returned the kiss with fervor.

When they parted, their foreheads pressed together.

“Finally did it!” Clarke exclaimed quietly.

“Finally?”

She nodded, her nose bumping Lexa’s as she did. “Been wanting to do that for months now. Kept chickening out.”

“Well I’m very happy you did it.” Lexa replied, kissing her again.

Clarke smiled and moved closer, forcing Lexa onto her back so she could curl up into her side. She threw a leg over Lexa’s and her left hand weaseled its way under Lexa’s t-shirt, pressing to her abs.

“I knew you liked those!” Lexa laughed and flexed her muscles.

Scratching lightly, Clarke nodded against Lexa’s neck. “I do. So much. But we can talk about that tomorrow. Sleep now, please.”

****

At first, Lexa had worried that Clarke would regret the kiss. That they’d wake up and Clarke would pretend everything was the same.

Like they hadn’t shared the most Earthshattering kiss of Lexa’s entire life during the night.

Instead, Clarke woke up when Lexa’s alarm went off for her morning run. She’d groaned and rolled over and pulled the pillow over her ear.

Lexa slid out of bed with a chuckle. She hurriedly got ready, knowing Anya would be waiting for her by the door.

“i’ll be back soon,” she whispered at the lump that was Clarke. “You can stay if you want.”

“Bring me coffee?” The Clarke-lump muttered.

“Of course.” Lexa replied.

She headed toward her bedroom door, humming quietly while she untangled her headphones.

“Hey.”

Lexa stopped and turned to see Clarke lounging in her bed. Her hair was a mess, the huge t-shirt was hanging off one shoulder, and she was making a face like her head was in a vice.

“Yeah?” Lexa asked.

Clarke crooked a finger at her and smiled.

Cautiously, Lexa approached the bed, not sure what to expect. When her knees hit the bed she stopped, staring down at the gorgeous woman.

Reaching up, Clarke hooked a finger through the shoulder strap of Lexa’s sports bra. She tugged gently, urging Lexa to bend down to her level.

She pressed her lips to Lexa’s, smile at the sigh and smile she felt in response. She nipped gently before pulling away.

“Good morning, Lex.”

“Morning, Clarke.” She smiled, dazed but happy.

Clarke watched her head toward the door again, allowing her eyes to roam freely. Just as Lexa reached for the doorknob, she said her name again.

“Yeah?”

“I really like your running outfit.” Clarke admitted, not even bothering to fight the blush rising up her neck. “Like… a lot.”

****

In the months that followed, Clarke and Lexa had become more touchy feely with each other. They held hands and cuddled and spent the night together 5 or 6 nights a week. When Clarke had gone home to California for Christmas, they’d facetimed every day. Several times a day.

Lexa had even been introduced to Jake and Abby Griffin when they brought Clarke home a few days before New Years Eve.

The young women spent that holiday together. It was the first time they slept together.

Lexa hadn’t been able to walk straight for a couple of days, her legs felt like Jell-O. She had to fight an eye roll at Clarke’s smug grin every time she saw Lexa wince at a sharp movement.

****

They spent Spring Break together too.

Abby and Jake had gifted Clarke, Raven, and Octavia with a cruise as a gradation gift. They included Anya and Lincoln too, since they were dating Raven and Octavia.

Lexa had been surprised when she was included.

Not that she didn’t care for Clarke. She loved Clarke.

But they were just having fun.

Soon they would graduate and move on to grad school. Medical school for Clarke and law school for Lexa.

She wasn’t even sure where Clarke was planning on going.

So when she accepted the cruise, she assumed it was going to be as Clarke’s friend. She hadn’t expected a shared room.

Or maybe she should have. Friends share rooms. Right?

****

It was graduation day. They had walked in their ceremony early in the morning, Clarke’s cap painted like a night sky meeting a dark forest. She’d painted Lexa’s with a silhouette of that warrior queen she’d dressed as for Halloween.

Clarke found Lexa first after the ceremony ended, pulling her aside for a deep kiss.

“Lex,” She breathed as she pulled away, “I hope you know how much I lo-”

“There are my girls!” Jake shouted, running up and grabbing both of them in a bear hug. He lifted them and spun them around as if they weighed no more than a father apiece.

“Put them down before you hurt yourself.” Abby teased, swatting at her husband. “I want pictures!”

Before Lexa knew what was happening, she was posing for pictures with Clarke and their friends.

It wasn’t until that night, after Abby and Jake had returned to their hotel and Raven and Anya had gone back to Clarke and Raven’s place that Lexa finally found herself alone with Clarke.

They got ready for bed wordlessly. The events of the day and weight of the future weighing on them.

Once they were settled though, Clarke curled into Lexa’s side, nuzzling her neck, she had to ask.

“Were you going to tell me you love earlier? At the ceremony?”

Clarke lifted her head and nodded, a big smile on her face. “I figured it was time.”

“It was time?”

“Well, I didn’t think you were going to say it first.” Clarke teased, leaning down and pecking at Lexa’s lips.

Dazed.

Confused.

Elated.

Lexa wasn’t sure she had names for all the emotions she could feel running through her veins.

At her silence, Clarke sat up further, moving to sit cross-legged.

“Lex?”

“Yeah?”

“Should I not have said that?” Clarke asked, her voice smaller than Lexa had ever heard it. “Are you not ready to hear it?”

Lexa sat up then. She leaned back against the headboard, reaching for Clarke’s hand. “No! That’s not… I’m not… it’s okay. Really.”

“Then why the silence?”

“I just figured I’d pluck up the courage to ask you on a date before I told you how much I love you.” Lexa shrugged. She shifted again, bending her knees and resting her forehead against them. “At least one date would have been nice.”

The last thing Lexa was expecting then was for Clarke to laugh.

Loudly.

Her laughter lasted about 30 seconds longer than Lexa would have cared for.

“Are you done?” Lexa asked.

“Did you not know we’re dating?” Clarke asked, wiping a tear from her eye.

“What?”

Clarke nodded and laughed again. She shoved at Lexa’s legs until she lowered them and scrambled into her lap, straddling her hips.

“Lexa. We’ve been dating for months now. Since the beginning of November.”

“We have not!” Her hands found Clarke’s hips and pulled her a little closer. She bent her legs again, giving Clarke something to lean back against while they talked. “How do you figure?”

“You took me to that Italian place on November 2nd.”

Nodding, Lexa thought back to that day. Clarke had been talking about how much she missed the Italian place her parents used to take her to back home so Lexa found one to take her to.

“And then we went for that walk in the park, as the sun set.” Clarke added.

A dopey smile bent Lexa’s lips.

She’d found a nice place to watch the sunset and she and Clarke had kissed as the sky turned dark.

It was a good night.

“That wasn’t… I mean… I guess it could have been?”

Clarke lifted her hands to run through Lexa’s hair. She scratched at her scalp as she said, “Lex, babe. We’ve been on more dates than I could count. You’ve met my parents, I’ve met your mother. You mentioned getting a dog soon and agreed that I could name him Fish. And we’ve already planned a vacation _next year_ with my parents and your mother.”

There was a long pause.

“We’re dating?”

Clarke laughed again. She nodded. “We are.”

“You’re sure?”

“I am.”

Lexa took a moment to think back again. If she really thought about it, Clarke’s premise fit.

“You really didn’t notice?” Clarke asked.

“No!” Lexa admitted bashfully. “I thought we were just… friends who did stuff together.”

“Fuck buddies?” Clarke supplied.

She shook her head. “Never that. I just didn’t think you’d want to start something since we’re moving away soon.”

“Lexa, I love you.”

Without missing a beat, Lexa responded, “I love you too.”

“You really need to pay better attention,” Clarke said. She leaned forward, catching Lexa’s lips in another kiss. “You didn’t realize we were dating. You didn’t realize what meeting my parents meant. You forgot we talked about getting a dog. Did you not realize that we basically live together too?”

“What?!”

“Baby…” Clarke sighed and rolled her eyes. “Anya is practically living with Raven. Octavia moved out to live with Lincoln. You gave me a key last month!”

Lexa was laughing now. “You’re such a U-Hauler!”

“I’d U-Haul any time for you, Lexa.” Clarke replied seriously. She sat up then, meeting her eyes. “If you think I’m dumb enough to let you slip away, you’re crazy.”

“Because you love me?”

Clarke nodded.

Lexa sat up. She lifted a hand to the back of Clarke’s head and pulled her in for a kiss. “I love you too.”

****

It was a few hours later when Clarke started giggling. She paused her hand, which had been drawing nonsense shapes on Lexa’s abs.

“What?” Lexa asked, lifting her head to meet Clarke’s eyes.

“You didn’t know we’re dating.” Clarke said. “You’re such a useless lesbian, Woods.”

“I am not!” Lexa protested.

Clarke sat up, leaning over her girlfriend. “Oh yeah? Then why did you say we’re moving away when you and I are moving to New York together in July?”

“You got in to NYU’s med school?”

“And you got in to Columbia Law.” Clarke nodded.

Lexa grinned and pulled her in for a kiss. “I’m so proud of you, babe!”

“I’m proud of my useless lesbian girlfriend too.” Clarke replied with a grin. “You do remember that we’re supposed to be going to look at apartments next week, right?”

“I thought that was just for me!”

Clarke pressed a finger to Lexa’s lips, smiling when she kissed it. “Just… tell me you love me and quit while you’re ahead, babe.”


	2. No Strings Attached

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Lexa meet at the beginning of their journeys through grad school. It starts off with a hook-up and moves on to friends-with-benefits.
> 
> And it grows from there...

The first time it happens, they’re strangers. They’re new to New York, each moving there for her education. Clarke has been there for 6 months, wanting to arrive as soon as possible so she can learn everything she needed to know about her new home. Lexa comes at the beginning of August, just a month ago, having returned from a trip to Europe with her girlfriend.

Ex-girlfriend.

That’s how it happens. Clarke and Lexa are in a club, dancing away their pain and heartbreaks.

Clarke is trying to forget the anniversary of her father’s death, five years prior. Thankfully, the pain has dulled to an ache now. Early in the day, when Abby had called and they’d talked about Jake, her heart felt like it was trying to run away from her chest.

Now it only felt like she’d been stabbed in the heart.

So… some improvement there.

Lexa is forcing herself to think about anything other than the mental image of finding Costia in bed with Ontari.

Her lips curl at the thought of her cousin’s smirk as soon as their eyes meet.

Her stomach twists when she thinks of Costia’s quiet admittance that they’ve been sleeping together for over a year.

No.

Not going there.

She circles her hips to the beat and takes a sip of her Jack and Coke.

All Lexa really wants is to drink just enough to forget but not so much that she’ll be sloppy.

It’s just after 11 when Lexa returns to the bar, telling herself she can have just one more drink. One more and then she has to go home to her too big apartment and her cold bed.

Instead, she grabs her drink and turns back toward the dance floor.

That drink ends up all over the most gorgeous woman she’s ever seen.

“Thank you.” The woman says with a smile, reaching for a handful of cocktail napkins to pat her dress with.

“What?” Lexa responds.

The woman tilts her head and smiles. “You just said I’m the most gorgeous woman you’ve ever seen.”

“I did?”

She nods and lets her smile grow. “You did. But I have a question.”

“Yes?” Lexa leans in, eager to hear more words in that raspy tone.

“How do you get your make-up so perfect if you don’t own a mirror?”

“Don’t own a…” Lexa repeats, clearly confused. “I don’t understand. I own a mirror. I have a few actually.”

The woman laughs. She holds out her hand and winks. “My name is Clarke and I’m calling bullshit on that.”

“I’m Lexa,” She replies. “And why do you think it’s bullshit?”

“Because if you own any mirrors you’d know you’re the most breathtaking woman in existence.”

Thankful for the dim lighting in the club, Lexa smiles bashfully. She can feel the blush on her neck and cheeks.

“So Lexa,” Clarke says slowly, clicking her tongue on the ‘x’ in a way Lexa had never heard before. “Do you think I could buy you a drink and maybe convince you join me for a dance or two?”

“I definitely think that can be arranged.” Lexa nods and turns back to the bar.

She bites her lip and leans back slightly when she feels Clarke press up against her back. She knows it’s probably more to get close enough to the bar to get the bartenders attention but it feels like more than that.

She knows she right when she feels Clarke’s hand on her hip, squeezing gently.

“Pick you poison,” Clarke whispers in her ear when the bartender finally appears.

“Water,” Lexa says without hesitation.

She winks at Clarke’s wide eyes, knowing she wasn’t expecting that.

“That actually sounds really good,” Clarke says slowly, reading Lexa’s eyes carefully. “Make that two?”

They manage a few dances before Clarke gives in to temptation. She’s pressed to Lexa’s back, their hips moving together to the beat, hands clinging, and panting breaths.

She lowers her head, pressing her forehead to Lexa’s bare shoulder, running her hand up and down her tattooed bicep. After a deep breath, she lifts her head enough to press her lips to Lexa’s shoulder. She drags them to her neck, latching on to her pulse point and smiling at the gasp and quiet moan that escape Lexa’s lips.

It’s only after she’s sure she’s left a mark that she pulls her mouth away.

Without hesitation, Lexa turns in her arms. She loops her own arms around Clarke’s neck, pulling her close.

There’s a silent conversation between them. Gauging the other’s mood and desires.

Then their lips meet halfway and they’re breathing each other in.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Clarke asks breathlessly.

Lexa nods before pressing her forehead to Clarke’s. She kisses her again, smiling at the fluttering she feels in her stomach.

“I’m about five blocks from here.” Clarke tells her as she reaches for her hand, lacing their fingers together.

“I’m three,” Lexa says with a grin.

Clarke shoots her a look over her shoulder. It’s… smoldering and desirous and… it’s everything Lexa needs to see in that moment.

****

That first night was meant to be a one-time thing. That’s what Lexa thinks anyway.

They share an Earthshattering night of giggles and touches and kisses and orgasms. So many orgasms. Lexa wakes up with bruises littering her neck and shoulders and… pretty much everywhere. She smirks at the dozen or so she sees on her abs, knowing Clarke loved the definition she’d work so hard for.

But she also wakes up alone.

Clarke left a note on the kitchen counter. All it contained was a simple ‘thanks’ followed by ‘I was right, you know. Easily the most breathtaking woman in the world.’

****

The next time Lexa see Clarke is a month later and in an unexpected place.

They’re at the library at NYU.

“Clarke?” She says, much to loudly for a library. The harsh hissing from the old woman at the desk tells her she’s broken the golden rule of libraries.

She’s waved over to a laughing Clarke. She stands awkwardly next to the long table, half covered in Clarke’s textbooks.

“Hey.” Clarke whispers.

“Hi.” Lexa replies. She chews her lip for a second before she moves to sit across from her. “How have you been?”

Clarke giggles before she shrugs. “I’ve been okay. Although my classes are not all that fun.”

“What are you studying?” Lexa asks, lifting her bag to set in on the empty chair next to her.

“I’m working on my MFA in game design.”

Lexa blinks at her for a second before she smiles. “You want to make video games?”

“I’ve made video games,” Clarke corrects. She reaches for her phone and taps the screen a few times. Turning it so Lexa can see. “But my big project will be based off of the graphic novel I created.”

“You wrote ‘The Grounders’?” Lexa asks, taking the phone in her hand. She smiles and looks back up at Clarke. “I love those!”

Clarke blushes and shrugs. “I was bored and my dad’s best friend, who is now my step-father felt guilty and has connections. So I used them to my advantage.”

“And now there’s going to be a game?” Lexa questions further. “I’ll have to buy a system and practice.”

“Or…” Clarke says slowly as she closes the book in front of her and reaches for her phone. “We could head back to mine and I can give you a hands on lesson.”

“Oh?” Lexa tilts her head and thinks about it for a second. She has a feeling she knows where the evening will lead. “Sure, but we have to stop at the pizza place nearby. I’m starving and if I’m not going to have my law books to distract me, I’ll need food.”

Moving to stand, Clarke smiles and nods. “You’ll need if for other reasons too, I think.”

****

It sort of becomes a semi-regular thing. They hang out, studying together or catching a quick meal, hook up on occasion.

After the second time they hook up, they have a serious talk about what they’re doing. Lexa is still getting over Costia and her betrayal, Clarke is just not in the right headspace for a relationship.

Or so she says.

They try to stay just friends at first.

It lasts less than a month.

They run into each other at the club where they first met. Clarke is with her friends from home who are visiting for Thanksgiving. Lexa’s cousins have made the drive up from Washington DC.

Somehow they find themselves smiling and teasing their friends when they start making heart-eyes at each other. Raven drags Anya off, asking her if she lives far. Octavia basically climbs Lincoln like he’s a tree. He carries her off and shouts something about getting a hotel room for the night.

Clarke and Lexa leave together too. Clarke’s arm is woven through Lexa’s as they walk.

They end up at Clarke’s place this time. Lexa had challenged her to some _Call of Duty_. She’d become ridiculously good at that game in the few months since Clarke had taught her the basics.

Of course, it barely lasts more than a few rounds before Lexa and Clarke end up in her bed.

****

After that, they set some ground rules.

  1. No feelings
  2. No titles
  3. No exclusivity
  4. No explaining dates with other people
  5. Tell each other if they sleep with other people
  6. Get tested if they sleep with other people
  7. No staying the night anymore
  8. No obligations



Simple.

They’re sure they can handle the situation if they both know where they stand.

It starts off with them just hooking up when they need stress relief. Then when they’re tipsy. Then when Lexa comes over unannounced after she sees Costia and Ontari at a café.

The bruises on Lexa’s neck and abs become permanent fixtures. Clarke makes sure she leaves her mark every time she loves Lexa into oblivion.

****

It doesn’t take long for their friends to figure it out.

They watch Raven and Anya move in together at a lightning pace. Anya moves from DC to LA in record time, transferring to LAPD and buying a small house with Raven.

Then there is Lincoln and Octavia. Octavia starts talking about transferring to the University of Maryland so she can be closer to Lincoln, who is a lawyer in DC, after three months. He’s trying hard not to encourage her to do it. He wants her to make the decision herself. She decides during her Spring Break that she will.

By the time summer arrives Lexa and Clarke have been hooking up regularly for six months. By the beginning of August, it’s eight months.

At Clarke’s birthday party in October, eleven months into their… whatever they have, Octavia and Raven figure out the women think they’ve been subtle.

They laugh so hard they end up crying.

“We’re just friends who hook up!” Clarke insists. “Stop!”

“Tell that to your face whenever you see her!” Raven replies.

“So you won’t be upset if she shows up with a date tonight?” Octavia asks.

Clarke shakes her head. “We have rules. She isn’t seeing any one else. She’d have told me.”

“Sure, Clarke.” Raven says with an eye roll. “You’re not in love with Lexa. Whatever you say.”

She doesn’t bother to respond. She turns on her heel and walks away.

Clarke will never admit it but she lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding when Lexa arrives alone that night. And if she holds Lexa a little tighter that night after everyone else leaves, she tells herself it’s because she’s cold.

That’s the first night they break the sleeping over rule.

When Lexa moves to get up and leave at 2:15 in the morning, Clarke only shakes her head and pulls her back down.

“It’s my birthday, Lex.” She murmurs as she buries her face in Lexa’s neck. “It’s my birthday and I want cuddles.”

****

It’s a slippery slope from there, no matter how much they fight it. For a while, they even rebel a bit and stop sleeping together. Lexa goes so far as to start seeing another law student, Luna, for a while.

It’s just before Clarke’s graduation that Lexa storms in to her apartment. She marches right up to Clarke, who is sitting on the couch, and glares down at her.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” She demands.

“What?” Clarke says, blinking up at her and sliding off her headphones.

Lexa puts her hands on her hips and glares harder. “Explain!”

“What’d I do?”

“You never… when we started…” Lexa huffs and starts to pace. She starts and stops her sentences a dozen times before she turns to Clarke and insists, “You’re moving?”

Realization dawns on Clarke’s face. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.” Lexa snaps.

“Lexa?”

She shakes her head and paces again. She’s muttering even more than before. Then she stops and whirls back around.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Lexa asks.

“I was going to!”

“But you didn’t!”

Lexa moves closer, dropping onto the cushion next to Clarke. “Did I do something? To make you not want to tell me?”

“I love you.”

All she can do is blink. Nothing, absolutely no words or actions or sounds come to Lexa’s mind.

“What?”

“I love you.” Clarke repeats with a shrug. She turns to Lexa and smiles sadly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… it just happened.”

“Clarke.”

Shaking her head, she rubs her hands over her face. “Lexa. I’m in love with you. And I wasn’t going to tell you. I’m moving away and you’ll marry Luna and we’ll go back to being friends. Best friends. I know it’ll be awkward at first but we’ll be okay.”

“No.”

“Oh.”

Tears burn Clarke’s eyes as she stands. She nods and sniffles. “Right. Okay.”

“Clarke.”

“I’m sorry. I just assumed you’d want to stay friends.” Clarke swallows thickly. She heads toward the door, determined to open it and let Lexa leave gracefully. “That’s fine. I get it. I’m sure Luna wouldn’t be comfortable with it. Just… uh… right. I’ll see you around then. At the weddings.”

She starts to leave, fighting back the sobs as best she can. Choking them back isn’t helping though. She knows Lexa can hear them.

“Stop moving!”

Clarke freezes. She buries her face in her hands and allows her two good sobs. Then she sniffles and wipes her face. Se turns around and tries to smile, like nothing is wrong.

“No.” Lexa says again.

“I get it. I’m sorry!”

All of a sudden, Lexa is on her feet and hurrying to Clarke. “We’re so dumb.”

Before Clarke can respond, Lexa’s cupping her face and pulling her in for hard kiss. Then a softer kiss.

“You can’t move, Clarke.” Lexa whispers when she pulls away.

“I can’t stay here,” She says, closing her eyes. “I can’t see you with Luna anymore. I can’t.”

Lexa kisses her again. “Luna and I ended our… whatever months ago. We’re just friends.”

“What?”

“Yeah.” Lexa nods. “I couldn’t… every time she and I were… It’s just…”

“What?”

Lexa sighs and says, “She’s not you. Every time she tried to touch me I’d see your face. Every time she’d kiss me, I’d have this stabbing sense of guilt. I couldn’t do that to you.”

“You were with her for months!”

“A month.” Lexa corrects. “One month, three kisses. She was not impressed with my reluctance.”

Clarke smiles at that. “I’m happy you didn’t sleep with her.”

“You’re it for me,” Lexa says, pressing another kiss to Clarke’s lips. “I love you too, Clarke. So much!”

Clarke smiles and dives in for another kiss, one that’s ruined when Lexa grins.

“You love me?” Clarke asks.

“I do.” Lexa pulls her in and, for the first time in months, kisses her like she wants it to go somewhere. She starts to back Clarke up toward her bedroom, smiling and nipping the whole time.

“I’ve missed you,” Clarke admits.

Lexa kisses her again. “I’ve missed you too.”

Within minutes, they’re naked and in Clarke’s bed. Their hands and mouths are everywhere, like they’re trying to relearn each other.

Not that either of them had forgotten a single thing, a single second of their time together.

“Clarke.” Lexa gasps when she feels lips and teeth on her neck. “You can’t… not there.”

“What?” Clarke pulls away with a whine. “Why?”

Lexa grins up at her. “I have mock trial tomorrow. I can’t wear a scarf for that.”

“So…” Clarke says slowly, dipping her head to bop Lexa’s nose. “So your abs?”

“Free game, babe.” Lexa laughs and pulls in her again. “They’re all yours!”


	3. Just Get In The Bed, Clarke...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke makes an appearance at a pre-wedding weekend for Lincoln and Octavia after she'd told them she wouldn't be able to make it. She's surprised to find out Lexa was somehow able to make it too.
> 
> And, of course, there was only one bed.

She’d been sitting outside her parents’ beach house for fifteen minutes. From the bench across the street she could see the comings and goings of her friends.

Friends…

Former friends?

She hadn’t really spoken to most of them in years. Not since the summer after high school graduation.

Just the thought of that time brought a smile to her face.

It had been an idyllic time. She’d been young and in love and ready to face the world.

Then came moving day. Stanford and their pre-med program was waiting for her. The Naval Academy had been waiting for Lexa.

They parted on… not the best of terms.

Clarke wanted to give Lexa the freedom to settle in without worrying over how Clarke was heading to California. Lexa didn’t want space. In fact, she adamantly refused it.

They’d been together for six years, nearly to the day, when Clarke had hugged her for the last time and made her promise to take care of herself first and worry about others second.

She’d included herself in the ‘others’ category.

When word spread to their friends, they rallied around Lexa, offering her as much love and support as they could. Only Octavia and Raven made the effort to stay in touch with Clarke.

Now there she was, six years later and freshly graduated from her law program.

As it turned out, she’d hated pre-med but loved the criminal justice class she’d taken as an elective. So she switched majors and universities at the beginning of her sophomore year, trading Stanford and California for Columbia and New York.

“Clarke?”

Her head snapped to the left, finding Raven standing just a few feet away.

“Hey.” She smiled shyly as she stood.

They may have talked on the phone and even FaceTimed occasionally but that was the first time in three years they were actually seeing each other.

Raven had only grown more beautiful through the years.

“What are you doing here?” raven asked, taking a small step closer.

“Isn’t this the weekend Lincoln and Octavia asked Mom and Dad for the beach house? Isn’t the wedding party all here?” Clarke responded, tilting her head.

Nodding, Raven rolled her eyes. “Yeah. But you RSVP’d ‘no’ to this shindig.”

“I managed to have my start date at the firm pushed back a couple of weeks so I could come down.”

“Clarke.” Raven sighed. She grabbed her elbow and dragged her behind a Jeep parked on the street. “It’s full. The house I mean. Anya and I are staying in my usual room. Octavia and Lincoln are taking the master… which is just, you know, gross. Bellamy and Echo, Monty and Harper, Murphy and Emori, Gustus and Nyko. The rooms are all claimed.”

“What about Jasper and Maia?”

Raven rolled her eyes again. “Camping on the beach. Apparently it’s romantic to have sand constantly stuck in unspeakable places.”

“What about my room?” Clarke asked, a teasing smile bending her lips. “Don’t tell me Dad has really turned it into the shrine he always threatened.”

“No. But it is occupied.”

Heavy silence settled over them. Clarke didn’t understand. Her room was always off limits.

Then it hit her.

“She came?”

“She requested an extra week of leave to be here.” Raven answered quietly.

“Shit…” Clarke rubbed at her forehead. Then she sighed. “I suppose I can just try to figure out how to dodge her and Costia all weekend. I’ll, uh… I’ll have to buy a new bed I think. But that’s okay.”

Raven’s hands found Clarke’s shoulders and squeezed. “Clarke.”

“I’ll just go and say hello to Lincoln and Octavia before I see if I can find a hotel room nearby or something.”

“Clarke,” Raven said again.

“Or I can just go to see Mom and Dad for a few days.”

Without another word, Clarke headed across the street toward the beach house. She pulled open the screen door, calling out a greeting as she moved inside.

“O?”

There was a thump somewhere upstairs, followed by a string of what she thought might be curses. Before she could investigate, she heard bare feet on the hardwood floors running toward her.

“Clarke?”

She barely had time to brace herself before Octavia launched herself into the air. Her momentum nearly took them both to the ground.

“You came!”

“I rearranged some things. Luckily, my new bosses like me enough to push back my start date.” Clarke answered, hugging her friend tightly before lowering her to the floor. “How are you? Getting nervous yet?”

“Why would she be nervous?” Raven questioned as she joined them. “She and Linc have basically been married since elementary school.”

Just then, the man of the hour, Lincoln, appeared from somewhere deeper in the house. He smiled when he saw Clarke.

“Well hello, stranger!” He wrapped her in a bear hug and spun her around. “I thought you weren’t going to be able to make it?”

“Change of plans. And really nice bosses.”

He released her held her at arms length. “You look good, Clarke.”

“Thank you.” She blushed. She glanced down at her body, knowing she’d worked hard for her curves and muscles. “Turns out I enjoy working out. Who knew?”

“I told her about the accommodations.” Raven cut in. “Or lack thereof.”

Lincoln nodded and shrugged. “We’re all old friends. I’m sure we can figure something out.”

“It’s okay, Linc. Really.” Clarke assured him. “I’ll see if I can find a room nearby. No worries.”

“Maybe the Collinses will let you stay with them?” Raven offered with a smirk. She knew Clarke hated Finn Collins with a passion.

“She can stay here. It’s her parents’ place.” Octavia retorted with a shake of her head.

Clarke was already arguing. “Rae told me who is staying where. I’m not going to kick Lexa and Costia out of my room. It’s fine. I’m not that petty.”

Raven huffed out an annoyed breath. “If you’d just listen –“

“Costia and I broke up, Clarke.”

Blue eyes closed at that voice. At the click of the ‘k’ that only one person ever mastered.

Lexa was there. Right behind her.

“I’ve been trying to tell her that.” Raven muttered.

Clarke opened her eyes to glare at her friend. In all their texts, calls, and video chats, not one time did Raven ever mention anything about Costia without Clarke asking first.

“You can’t ever look at me?” Lexa asked, her tone taking on a bit of a bite. “After six years? Really?”

She turned on her heel, determined to stand up to the challenge. For the first time in all those years, she met those green eyes she’d longed for.

They were softer than she imagined they’d be, but guarded too.

“Hello, Lexa.”

“Hi.” She replied with an arched brow.

The silence stretched between them.

“I’m going to go find Anya. I want to tell her Clarke is here.” Raven said, sliding past her friends.

“We’ll come with you!” Octavia said, grabbing Lincoln’s hand and pulling him down the hall.

Suddenly alone, the women stared at each other. Neither sure how to start a conversation with the other anymore.

Then Clarke cleared her throat, willing to try. “Raven said you took some extra leave? For the week?”

“I did. Then it’s back to school.” Lexa replied.

“More school?”

“Medical school takes forever.”

Clarke’s head tilted again. Then she laughed lightly. “So you’re going to be a doctor?”

“Why is that funny?”

“I just graduated law school. Columbia.”” Clarke responded with a smirk. “We switched careers!”

Lexa smiled then, just a small one. But just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone again. “You’re really moving home then? That’s what Raven told Anya.”

Clarke arched a brow.

Anya told Lexa about her.

That was interesting.

“I am. To work at Kane, Jaha, and Frost.”

Lexa nodded before she cleared her throat. “You should stay. For the weekend I mean. It would mean a lot to Lincoln an Octavia.”

Before Clarke could respond, Lexa was walking away. She scrambled to go after her.

“What are you doing?” She asked when they reached her room. It was the highest room in the house, the old widow’s walk converted into a suite. And the room Lexa was meant to occupy.

“I’ll sleep on the couch. Or in the hammock.” Lexa replied, gathering her things quickly. “You know I love sleeping out on the porch anyway.”

It was an unintended jab. A reminder of how often they’d ended up in the hammock as teenagers, tangled together as they slept.

“Right.” Clarke said. “That’s really okay. I appreciate the offer but I don’t think I’m staying. I’ll hang out for today and then head home tonight.”

“No way. It’s four hours to your parent’s house.”

Clarke shrugged. “I’ll be fine. I’ll take a nap in the hammock later.”

****

The rest of the day flew by. There was drinking and swimming and a minor emergency when Jasper was stung by a jellyfish. And a slightly greater emergency when Finn Collins spotted Clarke in the waves and tried to coax over to his parent’s house so they could catch up.

Lexa had sidled over and looped her arm around Clarke’s shoulder, glaring ta the man until he practically ran away.

It was a good day, overall.

True to her word, Clarke took a nap in the hammock around four in the afternoon. She was determined to stick to her word and not ruin the weekend. In her mind, that included not kicking Lexa out of her bedroom. She’d said she wasn’t going to be there and so she didn’t feel right displacing her ex.

When she glanced at her phone and realized there was just over an hour before midnight, she started making the rounds to say goodnight. She had to remind a couple of her friends that she’d see them soon, they were drunkenly crying about missing her. She had to tell Monty three times that she’d see him the following weekend at the wedding.

She’d managed to find everyone except Lexa.

After searching for ten minutes, she finally headed up to her room, wondering if Lexa had gone to bed.

“Lexa?” She knocked gently.

The door opened, revealing Lexa in her sleep clothes. That is to say boxers and…

No.

That couldn’t be right.

“Is that my old softball hoodie?” Clarke asked, her jaw dropping.

“Possession is nine tenths of the law, Clarke. You ought to know that as lawyer.” Lexa teased. She grabbed Clarke’s wrist and pulled her into the room, closing the door behind them. “I’ve had this hoodie in my possession for nearly a decade. It’s mine now.”

Clarke snorted and poked her in the shoulder. “Lexa, it says ‘Griffin’ right on the back!”

“And whose fault is it that I’m not a Griffin by now?”

That tease fell flat.

“Lex…”

“Look.” She shook her head and waved her off. “You and I have a lot to discuss. And we will. Even though you’ve avoided me all night. That’s fine. For now, I think you ought to stay. So get changed and get in bed. You know tomorrow is jet skis and boating day.”

“I’m actually heading out. I wanted to say goodbye.”

Shaking her head again, Lexa pointed at a pile of clothes on the bed. “Actually, Anya and Raven and I decided you should stay. So we stole your keys and grabbed your bags. If you really want to leave, you can go in the morning. After you’ve slept.”

“I’m not kicking you out of the room your picked.”

Lexa sighed. “I picked this room because I knew you wouldn’t want anyone else in here. And because it’s the only room I’ve ever slept in here. Besides, I told you I can sleep in the hammock.”

“If I stay, I’ll take the hammock.”

“I cut the hammock down!” Raven shouted through the door. “And we’ve decided you’re going to talk.”

The door opened, revealing Anya and Raven. They had a half dozen bottles of water, a box of protein bars, and a bag of M&M’s. They threw it all in the room and slammed the door again.

“We aren’t letting you out until you talk!” Raven explained.

“I’m tired of Lexa’s not so subtle Clarke questions. Talk!” Anya added.

“Raven!” Lexa shouted back as she approached the door. “You can’t even lock us in here! It locks from this side!”

Raven laughed. “I’m a genius, Lexa! You really think I couldn’t figure out how to flip the doorknob around?”

“Goodnight!” Anya shouted before dragging her wife away.

For a minute, the women stared at the door. Then at the bottles littering the floor.

“Looks like we’re sharing the bed then.” Lexa sighed. “Should have seen this coming.”

“You ask about me?” Clarke ignored her statement.

“Get changed.” Lexa replied. Then she glanced at Clarke. “And don’t think I missed my old rugby sweats in your bag!”

****

It was three in the morning when something woke them both up. At first they don’t know what it is.

Then Raven pounded on the door again.

“I haven’t heard a single sound from this room all night. No talking, no yelling, no cursing, no moaning, no fucking!” She shouted. “I’ll keep you in there until Lexa’s leave is up! Octavia said she’d be okay with you missing the wedding!”

“Only if they talk!” Octavia cut in.

“What she said!” Raven huffed. She pounded a few more times. “Quit being so stubborn and talk!”

Clarke sat up in the bed. “Unlock the door, Rae!”

“It’s been six years!” Raven responded. “Just talk!”

They waited until they hear their friends’ doors slam shut before they settle back into the bed.

Clarke was the first to give in. She rolled to her side, finally facing Lexa. She could see her profile in the light of the full moon.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t.”

“No. They’re right. I owe you an explanation. A better one than I gave you all those years ago.”

Lexa waited half a minute before she sighed and turned to face Clarke.

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“I do.”

“You don’t.”

Clarke’s eyes were already welling with tears but she refused to let them fall. “Lex. We had plans. We had dreams. And then I… I don’t know. Honestly. I think I got scared. I got scared and I made a choice for both of us when I should have talked to you.”

“I think…” Lexa let out a shaky breath, her eyes searching Clarke’s. “I think it was actually the right call.”

“What?”

Lexa moved a little closer. “Clarke. Annapolis was no joke. Even with as prepared as I thought I was, I wasn’t. I didn’t have any time for a social life. If we’d stayed together, I’d have tried to stay just as devoted to you as I’d always been. Instead, I focused on school like I never had before.”

“Okay.” Clarke nodded, not really knowing how to respond to that.

Maybe Lexa hadn’t been as heartbroken as she had been after all.

“I was first in my class, Clarke. Lexa said with a little smile. She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “I couldn’t have done that if I’d been worrying about you and how you were doing. I mean, more than I already was.”

Clarke nodded. She thought she understood. Then she smiled. “First in your class? What a nerd.”

“I know you knew that already. Raven told me you asked about me just as much as I asked about you.”

“Did she?” Clarke arched a brow. “What else did she tell you?”

Lexa shrugged. “She told me about Niylah. Sounded messy, I’m sorry about that. She told me about the two-month bender you went on when she told you about Costia for the first time. And she told me about how you went radio silent after she told you Costia proposed.”

“Raven has a big mouth.” Clarke muttered.

“Anya said she figured you still have feelings for me. Buried deep down. That you have to if that’s how you react to the news about Costia.”

Clarke huffed and glared in the moonlight. “Anya has a big mouth too.”

“Be serious.”

Biting her lips, Clarke nodded. She moved her hand slowly, running it down Lexa’s left arm until she caught her hand. She lifted it and turned it. “About that?”

There was no ring on Lexa’s finger.

“I said no.” Lexa answer easily, shifting her hand to catch Clarke’s and bring them back down to the mattress. “Raven said she tried to tell you because she hoped it would help bring us back together. But every time she broached the subject your either hung up or talked about something else.”

“You said no?”

“I did. And then we broke up.”

Clarke growled at the thought. “That was two years ago!”

“Two and a half, actually.” Lexa corrected with a laugh. “You’re a stubborn woman, Clarke.”

Silence fell over them.

“I think Raven and Anya were right.” Clarke finally whispered as she played with Lexa’s fingers.

“About?”

“I don’t think I ever stopped loving you. Or having feelings for you. However you want to phrase that.” Clarke admitted. She turned her head into her pillow and sighed. Lexa could just barely make out the muffled ‘I’m sorry’ she muttered.

Lexa eased closer. “I have a confession.”

“What?” Came Clarke’s muffled response.

“Look at me and I’ll tell you.”

It took a few minutes of coaxing before Clarke finally turned her head again, settling it on the pillow. She found Lexa even closer now.

“I never stopped care for you either, Clarke.”

“Lex?”

This time it was Clarke who shifted closer. Their noses were nearly touching. She recaptured Lexa’s hand, tracing her fingers over her palm.

“Listen, Lexa said with a sigh. Then a shy smile crept onto her face. “You’re heading back to DC. So am I. And I’ll be here for at least another two years.”

“Yeah?”

Hope blossomed in Clarke’s chest. The sort of hope she never allowed herself to think about.

“I can’t make any promises right now. _We_ can’t make any promises.” Lexa said slowly. “When I graduate, I’ll still have to serve. I’ll be in for at least a couple of enlistments.”

Clarke wanted those promises. Wanted to spill the words from her lips more than she’d ever wanted anything.

She was fine with hiring a U-Haul right then and there.

Then she remembered it had been six years.

She didn’t really know this Lexa. And this Lexa didn’t know this Clarke.

“So…” Clarke said. She bopped Lexa’s nose with her own. “We go slow? Friends first?”

“We’ve never been very good at just being friends, Clarke.”

“We can talk in a few months. Reevaluate where we stand.” Clarke responded with a wink. “Slow and steady. No promises, not yet. But I’m willing to put in the work if you are.”

****

**_ Fifteen Months Later… _ **

“Can you believe the Collinses finally sold their beach house?” Clarke said as they approached the little bungalow that was dwarfed by her parent’s massive beach house next door.

Lexa could only grin at her. She dropped her bag in the sand next to the front walk and hurried to scoop her girlfriend up in her arms. She carried her up the stairs and over the threshold.

She didn’t stop until they were in the master bedroom. She fell on the bed with Clarke still in her arms.

“Now we have a beach house of our own.” Lexa said, pulling her in for a kiss.

“Right next to your parents’.” Raven added from the doorway. She held up Lexa’s overnight bag. “You dropped this. Anya asked me to bring it to you.”

“Thank you.” Lexa replied.

Raven only nodded. “Also, you’re gross.”

“You helped us get back together!” Clarke objected, her eyes never leaving Lexa’s.

Raven scoffed. “If I’d have known you were going to be this gay about it, I’d have told myself to knock it off!”

She closed the door behind her, leaving Lexa and Clarke alone at last.

They reappeared an hour or so later, greeting Anya and Raven with mused hair and dopey grins.

“You need to redecorate this place. Like yesterday.” Anya said without looking up from her book. “It is clearly stuck in the 70s and it makes me sad.”

“First we need to get Lexa’s orders and then we’ll go from there. That’s our top priority.” Clarke replied as she moved to grab a glass of water.

Lexa shook her head and smiled. “Well, I don’t know about that.”

“What do you mean?” Clarke asked, turned to face her.

She found Lexa on one knee, a brilliant diamond ring held out in front of her.

“I’m thinking your top priority ought to be organizing our wedding with me,” Lexa said softly. She smiled up at Clarke as she moved closer, her hands over her mouth and eyes wide. “I’d really like it if I didn’t have to leave you behind when I go… So will you marry me, Clarke?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 4 will be up later today! I worked the overnight shift and need to get some sleep before I type that out!


	4. Sketches Everywhere...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke has found a muse but she finds herself unable to finish her sketches thanks to a very particular area of Lexa's body...

Usually Wednesdays were Raven’s day to have the house to herself. She only had a couple of classes in the morning, allowing her to be home by noon at the latest.

That week, however, she returned home to find Clarke’s truck still in the garage.

“Clarke?” She called out as she entered the house.

There was no answer. The house was eerily quiet.

With limited options available, Raven grabbed Clarke’s old softball bat from the garage. Something told her not to go poking around the house without some sort of protection.

It took her nearly ten minutes to finally reach the stairs and ascend them. She checked the powder room first, since it was the first door at the top of the stairs. Next came her room. Finally, she through Clarke’s bedroom door open and jumped into the room.

“Hey, Raven,” Clarke said, her tone almost bored.

“What the fuck?” She dropped the bat and crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you doing? Don’t you have your studio time tonight? Or something like that?”

Clarke was lying on her bed, head hanging off the side as she stared at a canvas propped against her wall. She sighed and waved her hand at Raven, hoping she’d go away.

“Use your words.”

“I can’t.”

It was a whine.

Clarke never whined.

Before her next question, the fluttering of a page caught Raven’s attention. She turned her head to Clarke’s angled desk.

It, and every other surface in the room, was covered in sketches. Some were of a woman’s profile, some of her face, some were full body sketches, some were nudes. They were all the same woman though.

“Clarke?”

“Raven?”

With a few quick almost dance like steps Raven was able to reach her desk to snatch up a few of the nude sketches.

“Why haven’t you finished these?” She asked, turning them for Clarke to see.

She only groaned and covered her face with her hands.

“Clarke?”

There was a reply, of a sort. Nothing Raven could make out.

“Seriously, Clarke.” Raven rolled her eyes and took another look around. “What is going on?”

With a strangled shout that was barely contained by the hands on her face, Clarke shook her head.

“I’m going to call Octavia in, like, two minutes if you don’t start talking!” Raven threatened.

That had Clarke sitting up in her bed. She moved too fast though and had to catch herself when she felt suddenly dizzy.

“Don’t!” She yelled.

“Then use your big girl words and tell me what the hell all this is!”

Clarke glanced at the canvas again, a work in oil paint that featured what Raven could only assume was the same mystery woman’s back. There was a tattoo down her spine that Clarke had drawn in meticulous detail.

“Her name is Lexa and she’s on the soccer team. Her friend is in my class and suggested Lexa earn some extra money by modeling for us.” Clarke finally explained.

“And you, being the useless bisexual you are, have developed a crush so massive that you can’t draw her boobs?” Raven questioned as she held up the sketches again.

Groaning again, Clarke threw herself back on her bed. She lifted her arm and buried her eyes in the crook of her elbow. “No.”

“Really?”

There was a beat of silence, followed by Clarke’s quiet, “Yes and no?”

“Explain!”

“I do have a crush on her!” Clarke said as she sat up again. She pointed at another canvas, this one of just Lexa’s torso. It started with the underside of her breasts barely visible and followed her ridiculously sculpted abdominal muscles down to an incredibly developed v-cut. “That is not exaggerated! That’s her!”

“Little Clarke all bent out of shape because she’s lusting after a woman like the rest of us mere mortals!” Raven laughed and clapped her hands together. Clarke’s head snapped to her when she heard the rustling of the papers. Gulping at the intensity she saw in those blue orbs, Raven set the papers back on the desk. “Sorry.”

Huffing out a breath, Clarke tried to think of a way to explain what was going on in her head. IN the end, she could only say, “It’s more than lust. I mean… She’s sexy as hell, Rae. Look at her! But she’s also funny and really sweet. I’ve talked to her a few times after class, got a good look at her back tattoo for my painting, but she’s more than what you see. She’s so smart! And her eyes, Rae! Her eyes are green but they sort of shift shades from day to day. And then, whenever she looks at me she gets this soft sort of smile, like she’s shy or something? Imagine looking like that and being that smart and thinking you have to be shy around someone like me?!”

“Aw!” Raven teased. “Look at you gushing about this girl!”

“Shut up!”

Moving to sit on the bed, Raven nudged her with a shoulder. “So what’s the hang up then? Can’t bring yourself to look at her boobs?”

“Oh, I’ve looked plenty!”

“So what’s the hang up?”

Clarke blushed and shook her head. Then she covered her face again, speaking through her hands. “I can’t get her nipples right!”

Of all the things Raven had been expecting to hear, that was… nowhere on the list. She snorted out a laugh, then clapped a hand over her mouth.

It was too much though.

Laughter broke free and Raven was helpless to stop it.

She only stopped when Clarke turned to glare at her.

“I’m… Ow… Cramp…” Raven clasped at her side. “I’m sorry. You what?”

“I can’t get her nipples right.” Clarke said through gritted teeth.

Raven giggled again before catching sight of Clarke’s clenched jaw. “I’m sorry. Okay. I’m fine.”

“Are you?”

“Probably not.”

“Raven!”

She laughed again before biting her lips. After a few deep breaths, Raven cleared her throat and wiped at her eyes, wiping at the tears that had escaped while she was laughing.

“Okay. I’m fine. Really.” She promised. She bit her lip again before asking, “Is there something wrong with her nipples? Like… are they a turn off for you or something?”

“Not at all.”

“Then what’s the issue?” Raven tilted her head and studied her best friend.

Clarke’s blush deepened. She pressed her hands to her cheeks, trying to cool them somehow. “It’s just… the thing is… Well…”

“Out with it, Griffin!”

“Hernipplesarepierced!”

“What?”

Clarke grabbed a pillow from behind her and hit Raven in the face. “You heard me!”

“I heard gibberish!” Raven argued as she grabbed the pillow and whacked Clarke with it.

“I said her nipples are pierced!” Clarke repeated as she tried to block the blows. When Raven froze, Clarke whined and continued, “They’re pierced and every time I try to be all professional and try to get the details right, I get… distracted.”

“You mean you get horny!” Raven laughed.

Clarke didn’t argue.

“You do!” Raven gasped and clapped her hands again. “Oh! This is so great! I can’t wait to tell Anya!”

Clarke’s brows drew together at that. “Why would your new girlfriend care about my crush?”

“Well,” Raven drawled. “Seeing as my girlfriend and your crush play on the soccer team together…”

“They know each other!”

“And they’re cousins!” Raven added.

Clarke shook her adamantly. “You can’t tell Anya! You can’t!”

“Oh, I’m going to call her as soon as I leave your room. And then, my best friend in the whole wide world, we’re going to the match tonight so you can meet your future missus.”

****

Somehow, six hours later, Clarke found herself sitting on the side of the pitch cheering for Lexa as she scored a hat-trick. Her crush would glance up at her every once in a while during the lulls in the action and smile shyly. Occasionally she’d wave.

After the match, Raven insisted Clarke wait with her outside the locker room.

“You and me and Anya and Lexa can go and get something to eat,” Raven said as she tugged Clarke toward the door. “Anya is always famished after her games and she’s going to need her energy if she’s going to survive the plans I have for her.”

“Gross.” Clarke whimpered.

“Hey,” Raven swatted her shoulder, “Your pretend girlfriend may have scored three goals but my real life, actual girlfriend earned a shut out tonight! Against the Number Two team in the country! She’s getting lucky!”

Just then, Anya opened the door with a smirk on her face. “Hey.” I’m getting lucky tonight?”

“So lucky!” Raven nodded and jumped into her arms. “You did so great!”

“Thank you,” Anya said, almost shyly. She pressed her lips to Raven’s quickly before lowering her feet to the ground. Then she glanced at Clarke. “Hello.”

“Hi!” Clarke said happily. “Good job tonight!”

Anya shook her head and laughed. “Don’t try to butter me up. I already told Lexa what Raven told me. She’ll be out in a minute.”

And then she was dragging Raven away.

“What?” Clarke called after them. She tried to urge her feet to follow but they wouldn’t budge.

Then the door to the locker room opened again, revealing Lexa Woods in her tight jeans and black t-shirt with her red flannel tossed over her shoulder.

“Hey, Clarke.” She said shyly.

“Hi!” Clarke squeaked.

Silence fell over them as people milled around them. Then Lexa moved closer to her, bending her knees so she could see Clarke’s eyes.

“Is it true?” Lexa asked. “Is what Raven told Anya true? You’ve got a crush on me?”

“Maybe?” Clarke admitted slowly.

“That’s… that’s great!”

Clarke’s head snapped up, her eyes wide. “What?”

“I’m so happy it isn’t just me!”

“You… like me?”

“Of course!”

Lexa moved closer still, trying to get out of one of her teammate’s way. Her free hand, the one not holding onto the strap of her bag, grasped Clarke’s hip.

“I’d, uh… I’d like to take you out to dinner tonight?” Lexa offered. “As in a date?”

“Yes! Of course!” Clarke nodded.

“Can you drive? Anya said she was going to take my car.”

Clarke only nodded again, more enthusiastically.

With a big and bright smile, Lexa turned toward the parking lot. She offered her hand to Clarke, her smile turning shy once their fingers were laced. They walked to Clarke’s truck, tossing Lexa’s bag in the backseat before climbing into the cab.

“I’m really glad Costia suggested I sign up to be a model for her class.” Lexa admitted. “I mean, I know she only suggested it because she thinks we should hook up, but after I saw you… Well, there’s no competition.”

Clarke bit her lip and blushed at the compliment. “I’m happy you signed up too. You’ve become my muse.”

They drove in silence then, toward the restaurant Lexa had already made dinner reservations at after her talk with Anya earlier.

When they arrived, Lexa clambered down from the cab and hurried around the front of the truck to help Clarke. They approached the doors to the restaurant slowly, Clarke’s arm woven through Lexa’s and their paces even, like they’d been walking side-by-side together all their lives.

Just as they reached the doors, Lexa turned to Clarke with a devilish grin. “Hey, Clarke?”

“Yeah?”

“I really hope tonight goes well.”

“Me too, Lexa.” She smiled up at her.

Lexa opened the door, allowing Clarke to enter the building first. Then she moved so her front was pressed to Clarke’s back.

“If it goes really well, maybe you can study all my piercings a little more closely.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you've enjoyed!!
> 
> As always, feel free to drop me a line (or a prompt) here or on [Tumblr](https://imaginaryhistorianme.tumblr.com/)


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